I've been working hard (yes, but without straining or pushing myself) to help this new retreat come to life fully. I'm even learning how to do basic graphic design, like the above banner for the facebook event page! It's amazing how things just unfold from one day to the next. There is a sense inside, but not very personal, of an ongoing movement that keeps generating all sorts of activity. It's all part of this unfolding, of the retreat taking shape.

So this is a short report to let you know the information is all out there:

I just confirmed the date for the conversation with Scott: it's going to be on a Wednesday, September 17th, at the usual time. It's the first time I'm doing a live conversation on a weekday, but when I asked people who've subscribed to the newsletter about this, there were a lot of positive responses. So I just thought I'd give it a try! The theme is: Love Gone Practical, and we'll be talking about Scott's experience in running a treatment center and working with people who want to let go of their addictions. He's the only nondual spiritual teacher I know of who has 'gone practical' in this way. It's going to be very interesting to hear his experience and reflections.Do join me in this conversation if you can. If you can't and have questions for Scott, you can send them in and I'll make sure to ask him.Looking forward to this,grace

For more details about the teachers and themes please go to the home page or click HERE. There is no need to register for the conversations, the links for the live broadcast will be on the home page of the website. If you're on the mailing list, you'll receive a reminder in the week leading up to each of the conversations. (To sign up for the mailing list click HERE.)

Conversation with Scott Kiloby: This conversation has been announced for some time now, but I haven't scheduled it yet because Scott is working every weekend in his new center, and this is not going to change any time soon. He is off on Wednesdays and Thursdays. So I decided to just ask all of you: Would you be able to participate live on a Wednesday or Thursday, and would this be of interest to you? If so, I'd be very happy to hear from you; thank you so much for taking the time to let me know (CLICK HERE to send me a message)!

November retreat: I will send more information as and when more details are settled, but for now you can note the time: 1 - 2 November 2014, and the theme: The place of the heart in non-dual teachings. If you have friends who may be interested, please tell them about it and suggest they sign up for the newsletter to find out more as and when the information comes out.

We're at the half way point with the current series of live conversations on the theme of 'Living form Love': those with Unmani and Amoda Maa Jeevan have already happened, both very interesting in very different ways.

You'll find the YouTube videos of them on the Conversations tab underneath the retreats tab on this website (or CLICK HERE).

Still to come: conversations with Prajna Ginty (1 June) and Neelam (8 June, more details on the home page). ... And then I'm off to Germany to visit family and friends!

I'm not sure yet whether I will continue the conversations over the summer, I'll see about that once I'm back from Germany. But I'm definitely already thinking of a whole-weekend retreat in the fall, very likely on the theme of 'The place of the heart in nondual teachings'.

Sign up to the newsletter to make sure you get all the news! CLICK HERE to subscribe.

Wishing you a beautiful spring and summer,with much love to all of you,

Unfortunately, David Alsobrook is not well enough to participate in the retreat. He's been dealing with health problems for some time, and they've recently taken a turn for the worse. He will get treatment soon, but while he is waiting for it, he is not able to do very much. So here's wishing you well, David!

As for the program, the last two sessions will both start an hour earlier. Please check the Retreats page for the revised times.

It's been challenging to get the news about this retreat out! Somehow, the fact of having Jesus in the title seemed to cause some fear and trepidation in me, and it took me a while to finally feel ready to put it out there into cyber space.I knew, from having spoken to two of the speakers, Francis Bennett and David Alsobrook, that they had gotten some flak for introducing Christian language and thoughts into the nondual community. Somewhat predictably, there seems to be some reactive response to doing this. But this was just an outer concern.More interestingly, there was a very visceral 'No, you can't do that' in response to the retreat title when it came up as a theme. What is this fear? Today, I came across a website about a film called Liberating Jesus, based on a play written by a spiritual teacher, Leonard Jacobson. He reports a similar visceral response which stopped him for a number of years (click HERE for his account). What is it that makes the topic of Jesus so fearful? Is it a fear lodged in the collective unconscious dating back to the persecution of the early Christians? Is it a fear about touching on a topic that's not very 'cool' in spiritual circles? Whatever it is, it's interesting to see it arise... I hold it with compassion, and I do what I must...